Local officials talk truck routes in morning meeting

MARQUETTE – Elected officials from across Marquette County offered suggestions for future trucking routes and urged intergovernmental cooperation during a joint work session this morning.

The officials – representing the county, the city and two townships – agreed that a long-term trucking solution should be considered and expressed resignation at the concept of Rio Tinto trucks traveling along city streets and entering the U.S. 41 corridor in Marquette Township, at the highway’s intersection with Wright Street.

The most pressing issue, they said, is to make the short-term trucking route as safe as possible.

Marquette City Commissioner Sara Cambensy said she came to the meeting to discuss the safety of residents in both the city and the township.

“Safety issues don’t know boundaries,” she said.

Officials said about 34,000 vehicles move through the township’s 41-Wright Street intersection daily, while 18,000 move through the city’s Sugarloaf-Wright Street intersection.